St. Edward’s Holevas ready for banner season
It’s not like St. Edward senior boys’ golfer Michael Holevas’ mental game had gone south or anything.
Not considering the four-year varsity standout helped the Green Wave qualify for the state finals as a team last fall and then went out and won a summer tournament recently at the University of Illinois’ home course, in part, by shooting a 66 during the first round of the event.
But nonetheless, Holevas felt he could take his mental game to an even greater level.
“I’ve really worked a lot on it,” he said. “I’m visualizing shots better and managing myself better on the course. I haven’t been working on a lot of fundamental stuff. It’s more about how I am playing the game than how my swing is. All of the best players in the world, their mental games are rock solid. I knew I had to get better with that if I want to get to the next level and play collegiately and maybe professionally.
“It’s not like I didn’t have a good year last year and I’ve played some of my best tournaments of my life this summer. I am seeing myself take a turn for the better. I’m performing better and my expectations are higher. I definitely have more confidence.”
A lot of the mental game for Holevas focuses on dealing with adversity on the course.
“I realize bad shots happen,” he said. “It’s how you come back from bad shots that determines how you will play. I’m managing myself and managing my emotions better. It keeps me playing along.”
Holevas was pleased with how the summer circuit went for him. He won the U of I tournament with a 2-day total of 138 (66-72).
“That was my best tournament,” he said. “My scores have gone down from last summer. There were a couple of tournaments where I shot around even par.”
Holevas, who has his sights squarely set on playing collegiately at the highest level possible, shot a 75 at the recent Larkin invitational. Most players would be thrilled with a mid 70s outing.
“I need to do better than that,” he stated. “I always hold myself to high expectations. I know this team is going to work hard all season long and if we keep getting better, we have another decent chance. I need to be a little better than a 75. I want to shoot lower than that.”
Holevas, a two-time state qualifier, is playing this year without his good friend and longtime teammate Eric Winters, who now plays at Valparaiso.
“It’s a little different out there,” he said. “We still have a great team. Eric and I and all of the other seniors we were all pretty close. But I’m excited about this team as much I was excited about last year’s team.”
St. Edward coach Dr. Greg Winters, Eric’s father, knows Holevas will make the adjustment just fine.
“Eric and him pushed each other,” Winters said. “Michael has that mentality that he’ll push himself on his own. He is going to do a really great job as a leader. He has a very level head on him and doesn’t get upset at bad shots or scores. He’s quite amazing. He will be very solid.”
Holevas was chatting with a player from Oak Park-River Forest during the Larkin invitational. The subject turned to their senior seasons.
“It’s gone by so fast,” said Holevas, who is the owner of a 4.0 grade-point average. “I was talking with the kid from Oak Park-River Forest about how fun high school golf is and how I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s fun playing golf and being in the team atmosphere, but it has gone by so fast. People told me it would go by quick, but I didn’t believe them.”
Holevas would like to get back to the state tournament one more time before he checks out of the St. Edward program for good. But he’s adamant about bringing company with him.
“It’s a great experience to go down as a team,” he said. “I will do anything to try and get back down there with the team. It’s a lot better going with your teammates.”
In addition to Holevas, sophomore Dan Winters returns, along with junior Brian Jones and senior Ryan Frank. Winters and Jones played in the state tournament last year. Greg Winters has been especially impressed with Jones’ improvement.
“He’s improved dramatically,” Winters said. “He worked really hard over the summer. He’s probably cut off about 10 strokes from his score. He’s done an amazing job.”
Sophomores John and Michael Butzow and junior Kevin Lamp will be in that top 5 or 6 group for the Green Wave.
“We’ll rely on Michael heavily, but the other six players are all going to be vying for those 2-5 spots,” Winters stated. “They all play similar and have similar averages. We’re a little deeper than we have been, but the front end is not quite as strong as it was as last year. This is the first time in my eight years that our No. 6 and 7 players are not that far away from the 2 and 3 players.”
Fox Valley Conference: Crystal Lake South went 11-0 last year and won the Fox Valley Conference title. Class 3A state runner-up Nick Robles returns for the Gators, as do juniors Austin Wiggerman and Geoff Pietsch. Coach Curt Wadlington sees teams such as McHenry and Crystal Lake Central as top-tier contenders in the FVC.
Jacobs lost a host of seniors, including standout Scott Cahill, from last year’s sectional-qualifying team. Junior Sean Kozak and sophomore newcomer Chris Boyle will lead the way for the Golden Eagles.
Hampshire, the league’s newest team, returns seniors Jeremy Yoder and Adam Clemons, along with sophomore Geoff Beck from a team that took fourth in the Big Northern Conference last year. Yoder, Clemons and Beck were active in the off-season and have shown improvements.
“I am hopeful their leadership will encourage some of the younger players to manage their games a little better and make us better as a team,” Hampshire coach Jeff Howe said.
Getting a consistent fourth score will be a key for the Whip-Purs.
“There could be some rotating at the fourth, fifth and sixth positions for awhile,” Howe said.
Huntley is off to a strong start, as evidenced by a school-record 313 at the recent Glenbard North invitational at Glendale Lakes. Senior Mason Wicks shot a 69 there — an 18-hole score that coach Jim Rolando believes could be a school record as well.
“By early indications, we’ll be OK,” Rolando said. “We only lost one senior from last year. We’re young, but some of the kids have played varsity matches and have experience.”
Juniors Ryan Craig and AJ Fanslow are also back, along with sophomores Tyler Ross, Gage Jereb and Riley Wicks. Junior Garrett Chmiola, sophomore Brad Spoeph and freshman Trent Craig will also aid the Red Raiders.
Cary-Grove finished eighth in the FVC a year ago, but returns a number of players from that squad. Senior Kyle Lehnertz, juniors Jarrett Kinney and Nick Mathers and sophomore Daniel DePrey have been in that top four for the Trojans early in the season. Sophomores Eric Gier and Keegan Barrett should earn varsity playing time, while seniors Matt DiCicco, Gabe Glaysher, Drew Gustafsson and Justin Kinney also should contribute.
Kinney was a sectional qualifier last season as a sophomore and won the Cary-Grove invitational with a 73. DePrey was the total points winner in the MCJGA junior division this summer.
Sophomore Brandon Diblasi and freshman Peter Kalamaras are new to the team.
Upstate Eight Conference: Longtime Larkin coach Tim Jones is excited about newcomers Dylan Ganow (junior), Jack McCracken (sophomore) and freshmen twins Danny and Jon Lenz.
“We are very young, but we have some good ability,” Jones said.
Elgin lost nine seniors from last year’s team. Seniors Sondro Moraca and Derek Strohmair lead the Maroons.
Bartlett will be paced by seniors Ryan Stark, Mark Hyzy, Colin Wadelin and junior Ryan Wolf.
“We are in definite need of support scores,” Bartlett coach Tom Boyle said. “If any of our top four have a bad day, we need someone to step up and help out.”
Streamwood is loaded with underclassmen. Michael Katz is the lone senior on the team. Juniors Devon Holota, Jeff Weaver, Alex Alum, Eric Tomlinson, Danny Orlando, Nate Mc Coy, Cody Stonebreaker and Kyle Rhodes, along with sophomores Eric Hamlin and Matt Grens comprise coach George Rosner’s squad. Katz and Orlando are two great stories for the Sabres. Katz is autistic and has been on the team all four years, while Orlando has Down syndrome.
“Michael and Danny are great kids,” Rosner said. “Michael really improved his game last year. Danny plays in the Special Olympics and plays golf all the time.”
While Streamwood doesn’t have a definitive standout, Rosner is confident the strength in numbers philosophy will work to the team’s advantage.
“We have some of good players,” Rosner said. “Devon and Jeff gained a lot of good experience from last year. We don’t have a true No. 1 player. It will be interesting to see who will be in that No. 1 position. We have a good mix of guys. I expect us to be competitive.”
South Elgin took third in the Valley Division of the UEC last year and graduated senior Ryan Pondel, the top conference player in either division. Senior Xavier Owens, who qualified for state as a sophomore and took 13th, is back and looking to get a return trip to the state meet.
“I believe Xavier has a great chance to make it to state in his final year,” South Elgin coach Jay Bartholomew said.
Seniors Ryan Ford and Eric Stazy, along with junior Colton Kubovy and sophomores Andrew Dylo and Deven Meredith also will contribute for the Storm.
“We have a great group of guys who really compete with each other,” Bartholomew said. “I’m hoping to break 155 for our 9-hole matches. “
Around the area: Burlington Central, which qualified for the Class 2A state tournament a year ago, got off to a strong start by shooting 310 and taking second at the Glenbard North invitational at Glendale Lakes. Matt Weber shot 66 for the Rockets at that event.
Westminster Christian shared the Northeastern Athletic Conference title a year ago. But the Warriors graduated 10 seniors from that team. Senior Zack Edwards is back. Nate Sunday and freshman Andrew Howard are key newcomers.
“We are very young,” Warriors coach John Wedell said. “We have only one senior and no juniors. This is definitely a rebuilding year, but the future looks very promising with the skills of the incoming freshmen and returning sophomores. I expect we’ll get off to a slow start until some of the jitters wear off. I still expect we’ll have a chance to finish in the top three in the conference.”
Wedell lists Rockford Christian as the conference favorite.
Elgin Academy has a new coach in Bill Pearson.